(EDITOR'S NOTE: This is another in a series of recycling tips from the City of Covington's Neighborhood Services Department, Solid Waste & Recycling Division.)

COVINGTON, Ky. – In the recycling world, bad decisions can be dangerous.

We all know that improper disposal of batteries, pool chemicals, propane tanks, and other hazardous materials can pollute (and poison) our drinking water and the earth. Less commonly known is that these items can also spark and cause fires while being transported and compacted, destroying trucks, equipment, and buildings and endangering workers nearby.

(YouTube is filled with examples of such fires, and Rumpke’s materials recycling facility (MRF) in St. Bernard, Ohio, was destroyed by fire in 2012.)

Given that, here’s the right way to dispose of some of these dangerous materials: 

• Batteries (things like AAA, AA, C, D, and 9 volt, as well as lithium and rechargeable) are acceptable at Covington’s free annual electronic waste collection event held every spring. Call the City’s Solid Waste & Recycling Division for more information, (859) 292-4417.
• Pool chemicals, paint thinner, cleaning supplies, pesticides, and other chemicals can be disposed of for free at the Household Hazardous Waste event on Nov. 6 at the UC Health Stadium, home of the Florence Y’alls, from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. For more information, visit https://boonecountyky.org/nkyhhw/hhw_collection_events.php.

If you don’t want to hold on to those items and wait for a free collection event, you can take them places year-round: 

• Batteries at www.Earth911.com and www.call2recycle.org.
• Hazardous chemicals at Environmental Enterprises at 4650 Spring Grove Ave. in Cincinnati. Call (800) 722-2818 for information.

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